The Diwali week proved to be a tale of contrasts at the Indian box office. While Hindi releases Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat tried to capture the festive audience from Tuesday onward, holdover southern blockbusters Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 and Dude maintained a firm grip across regions. The festive frame from Tuesday to Friday saw strong openings but mixed trends as audiences favored content over spectacle.
Thamma’s Strong Opening Fades Through the Week
The biggest new release, Thamma, reportedly mounted on a₹150 crore budget, opened impressively on Diwali Tuesday with ₹24 crore in India net collections. It was a festive surge driven by holiday footfalls, especially in metros and tier-1 centers.
However, the film saw consistent declines in the following days — ₹18.6 crore on Wednesday (-22.5%), ₹13 crore on Thursday (-30%), and ₹10.05 crore on Friday (-22%). Over the four-day Diwali frame, Thamma earned ₹65.65 crore. While the numbers appear solid at first glance, the trend suggests a worrying lack of hold post-Diwali. Despite the film’s grand scale, high production values, and wide release, Thamma struggled to sustain beyond the initial burst. Audience reception appears divided, with urban multiplex circuits performing better than mass belts.
For a ₹150 crore film, the current trajectory signals underperformance unless the second week brings stability — something that looks challenging with new content arriving soon.
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat: Decent Start, But Short Festive Run
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, a romantic drama made on a estimated ₹30 crore budget, opened with moderate enthusiasm. The film collected ₹9 crore on Tuesday, followed by ₹7.75 crore on Wednesday, ₹6 crore on Thursday, and ₹5.5 crore on Friday, totaling ₹28.25 crore during the Diwali window.
The film saw smaller day-on-day drops compared to Thamma, indicating steady but limited appeal. However, it couldn’t hold momentum into the post-festive weekend, hinting that audience word-of-mouth wasn’t strong enough to sustain interest beyond the holiday rush.
For its budget, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat has performed reasonably well, but its theatrical run might end up average unless it picks up in smaller centers or benefits from positive digital traction later.
Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 Retains the Crown Even in Its Third Week
Despite being in its third week, Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 continued to dominate box office charts through Diwali week, collecting ₹29 crore India net between Tuesday and Friday.
Breaking down the festive frame: Tuesday: ₹11.75 crore, Wednesday: ₹10.6 crore, Thursday: ₹6.6 crore (across languages), Friday: ₹8.5 crore
The consistent performance across languages — particularly in Hindi and Kannada versions — shows extraordinary audience retention. With a running total exceeding ₹560 crore India net, Kantara has now become the undisputed box office phenomenon of the season, outgrossing all new releases during the festive window.
Even after nearly a month, packed evening shows and family turnout reflect the film’s lasting emotional impact and word-of-mouth power. Its pan-India reach remains the benchmark for 2025’s theatrical success stories.
Dude Holds Modestly with ₹16 Crore During Diwali Frame
The Tamil-Telugu bilingual Dude also managed a respectable presence during the Diwali frame, earning ₹16 crore between Tuesday and Friday despite being a week-old release.
Following a strong opening week of ₹56.5 crore, the film added ₹8.75 crore on Tuesday, ₹4 crore on Wednesday, and ₹2.2 crore on Thursday, before bringing in an estimated ₹1 crore on Friday. The decline is visible but expected for a holdover title facing fresh competition.
Made on a ₹30 crore budget, Dude remains a profitable regional hit, with its Tamil version driving most of the footfalls. It may have slowed down during the festive days, but its early-week strength ensures a successful overall run.
Audience Pulse: Rooted Stories Trump Festive Spectacle
The Diwali week reinforced an ongoing trend in Indian cinema — audiences are prioritizing storytelling over scale. While Thamma opened as a visual spectacle with heavy promotions, its rapid fall after the festive day reflects limited word-of-mouth.
Meanwhile, Kantara continued its dream run, driven by universal emotional resonance and cultural depth. The film’s long legs contrast sharply with the short-lived spikes of big Hindi releases. Even smaller titles like Dude and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat showed that modest budgets coupled with genuine storytelling can find their audience more effectively than overblown production designs.
Kantara Still Reigns as Thamma Stumbles After Festive Spark
This Diwali week belonged once again to content-driven cinema. Thamma may have taken a grand festive opening, but its declining trend through the four-day frame reflects the fading impact of star power without strong word-of-mouth. Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat performed moderately for its budget, while Dude maintained a solid hold regionally.
Yet, Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 stood tall as the audience favorite even in its third week, collecting nearly ₹29 crore during the same period — an extraordinary feat that overshadowed all new entrants.
As the fireworks settle, the numbers tell a clear story: in today’s box office landscape, emotion and authenticity continue to outshine spectacle, making Kantara the true winner of the Diwali week.
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